Ricky “Freeway” Ross just called, he wants his name back! Does rapper Rick Ross owe his success to a former drug lord? That’s what ex-trafficker Ricky Ross seems to think since he decided to sue the southern artist for allegedly stealing his name, image and popularity in order to create a successful career in rap music.
Ricky Ross, alias Freeway, was known to be the leader of a drug empire in Los Angeles during the late 80’s and 90’s. The trafficker even claimed he was making “2-3 million dollars a week” at that time. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996, Ross was released in September 2009 and is currently president of an association helping kids from poor neighborhoods.
However, redemption doesn’t mean capitulation since the drug dealer and his lawyer are ready to take what’s theirs: not only are they suing Rick Ross, but also his label Maybach Music, Universal Music Group Recordings, Slip-N-Slide Records (the rapper’s first independent label) and Jay-Z! According to Ricky Ross, Jay-Z is partly responsible for this infringement since he was president of Def Jam when Rick Ross signed to the label in 2006.
Will Rick Ross have to officially take the name Ricky Rosay like his Twitter page suggests? The good news is name changes do not seem to hurt a rapper’s career. Ask Diddy, alias Puff Daddy a.k.a Puffy, or The-Game who is now just Game. Rick Ross is not the only one who has been inspired by the drug dealer’s story, since that’s also where rapper Freeway got his name from. Let’s just hope this lawsuit doesn’t prevent Rick Ross from releasing his album “Telfon Don,” scheduled for a summer release on July 20th.
Written by Liv
Follow TRACE on Twitter : twitter.com/TRACE_US
Follow TRACE on Facebook : www.facebook.com/tracetelevision
